Night Terrors
by Tsuki the Wolf
Summary: Based on the prompt "Person B has been having nightmares so person B borrows person A's shirts, which has been helping them sleep." with Frisk being Person B and Sans being Person A. Sans/Frisk. 2nd POV. Can be seen as brotherly or romantic. Post-Pacifist ending. Spoilers to various endings. (Cover Art courtesy of dogpu on tumblr!)


It hadn't been long since the monsters arrived in the human world. In truth it had only been about a week. Now that you could see the sun, telling time was much easier for you. Most of the monsters that had entered into the Overworld had continued to linger around Mt. Ebbott for various reasons, most of which included a hesitancy in facing humans. Many of them –the younger ones- were excited to meet all the humans because their only experience with them was, well, you. But though you were young you were well aware that not all humans were as kind as you.

A little too aware.

You tried not to think about it often.

Needless to say that the older monsters were slightly more hesitant. They remembered the story of what happened to the Asriel and wondered how they would be treated despite the fact that it had been many decades since then. You didn't blame them. Asgore, however, was prepared to talk to the humans but first he was working on helping his people settle some. The forests surrounding Mt. Ebbott were uninhabited due to the stories surrounding it. Nobody wanted to live in a place where people mysteriously disappeared. This allowed the first monster settlement to be founded.

It had been slow work transferring homes to the Overworld from underground. Some decided to just build temporary housing over bringing their house with them. Undyne and Alphys were part of this group seeing as they couldn't transfer the lab and Undyne's house was burnt to the ground. The others who were planning on sticking around that area for a while set to work on building houses. You had been surprised at how efficiently the monsters worked. Their houses had been small but cozy enough for all who lived there. Even Grillbz had gotten to work on making the first bar in town.

There had been a bit of an…interesting falling out when Asgore and Toriel began to build similar looking homes. Toriel hadn't appreciated it. Seeing the large Asgore cowed by kindly Toriel still baffled you. It was hard to imagine the "sickeningly adorable couple" that the monsters talked about in the past.

Sans and Papyrus (but mostly Papyrus) had started to build a replica of their house in Snowdin –snow and lights and all. You weren't sure how they had gotten snow onto their house (it was early summer in the Overworld) but you suspected that Papyrus had brought it up from Snowdin. How it didn't melt you still weren't sure. You had learned not to question silly things when it came to the skeleton brothers.

As for you, you had been chosen to be the monsters' ambassador for the humans. You admit to yourself that you never saw it coming. You were barely a teenager and already you were the fate of monster kind. (Well actually, you had been that since the moment you had fallen into the Underground now that you thought about it). The job was….intimidating to say the least. You were young and you doubted that many humans would listen to you, but you were determined. You would make them see that these monsters were the kindest people you've met and that they wouldn't harm anyone. After all, they wouldn't harm a child like you so why would they hurt anyone else?

(You had made sure to let the monsters know not to tell the story of _how_ the barrier needed to be broken and about all of those children's souls. Or about how almost everyone you met had tried to kill you.)

(Especially Undyne.)

It helped that Asgore –kind fatherly figure that he is- would be helping you. You didn't doubt that, despite his bulk, he would be able to convince the other humans of the monsters' sincerity towards peace and cohabitation. Together the two of you would do great things.

You just needed to learn how to use your voice more.

As for your living arrangements, you had decided to live with Toriel. One of the things you regretted was breaking her heart by leaving the Ruins. Yes it had led to this new future but it had still hurt you to leave Toriel making her think that would be the last she saw of you. Besides, you knew that she desperately still wanted to be a mother and a teacher and you were willing to indulge. You enjoyed being doted on even if it still stunned you. She would make you food (with an unhealthy amount of snails that you were getting used to; you'd be sure to learn how to cook as well so you can start making food that you'd enjoy as well as give Toriel a break) morning, noon, and night, and tuck you into bed. When you both weren't working to either help with building the town or discussing with your friends (the unofficial counsel of the town) how you all planned to progress forward you could find yourself sitting in front of the hearth reading or out on the porch with Toriel just leaning against her side and staring at the stars. Your days were filled with peace.

It was unfortunate, then, that your nights were not so peaceful.

It hadn't started right away. The first night back on the surface you had collapsed as soon as you had stopped to rest. The others hadn't bothered to wake you up and instead busied themselves with making arrangements around you. (Always, though, someone would keep an eye on you.) You had a feeling that, although they didn't remember what happened with Asriel, they all knew that _something_ had happened that was enough to tire you out. Between the almost-fight with Asgore, the actual fight with Asriel, the emotional wreckage of your heart, and the long walk you made all the way from Asgore's castle to the Ruins and then back, you had slept dreamlessly that night.

The next day you had been busy helping organize monsters that were still coming from the Underworld. All of them had wanted to greet the human responsible for their freedom. Many of them also wanted to hear more about the world they were entering. It had been the most talking you had done in quite a while. When you weren't talking to the monsters you were helping build houses. It felt good to be useful and to keep your mind off of everything you've gone through.

But when night came and you settled down to sleep in the bed that Toriel had been insistent on you having as soon as possible despite there only being a shell of a room around the tent it was located in, you had trouble sleeping. Exhaustion kept you under the sandman's spell but it wasn't restful. You dreamt of memories and…other things alike.

* * *

" _You can't save me." Asriel said softly. Despite being in his larger form, his image slightly distorted by the fighting world around him that he had created, he looked so small. And when that thought occurred to you, suddenly he was small again. Just the small child in the green and yellow striped shirt. Tears streaked through his fur. "Just…just leave me here." His smile was heartbreaking. "Don't you have anything better to do?"_

 _You shake your head._

 _Asriel started chuckling. Then his chuckling turned into laughter. The laughter turned maniacal and his form began to alter again. You took a step back in fear before determination straightened your spine. Asriel form morphed grotesquely. Thorny vines larger than even Asgore wrapped around the area. His face flattened like Mettaton's and turned into a television as giant eyes erupted to surround it._

 _Your knees felt weak._

" _You_ _ **IDIOT!**_ _" The screen laughed and your hands covered your ears against the onslaught. Your soul –a tiny red heart beating just outside of your chest to signify a fight- fluttered anxiously as you stared up at the bombs materializing above you. You cried for help…but nobody came. You had to FIGHT. The bombs descended on you and you dodged the best you could. Attacks came from all sides. Injuries slashed up your body and the explosions burned your skin. You couldn't possibly survive this. With a gasp you fell to the ground and felt your heart shatter._

* * *

You sat up in bed panting. Your covers, soaked with your sweat, vibrated in your shaking hands. You whimpered to yourself and curled down into your blanket but the darkness felt suffocating. Images of vines wrapping around your throat and chest sent you flying out of the bed and walking across the ground. You left your tent to spy Toriel's nearby. You were tempted to crawl into bed with her despite not knowing how she would react to that. Instead, you walked away. You were used to taking care of yourself after all.

The humid summer air coated your already-damp skin and left you feeling hot. You wish you could take a bath but no plumbing had been properly set up yet. You supposed that you could go back into the Underworld and try to find something there but that was such a long walk for just a bath and no doubt the sun would be up before you made it back. All of the monsters, being that they weren't used to the sun, woke with it. You would just cause unnecessary upset. Instead you just let your feet wander until you reached the lake.

What had that creature been that Asriel had transformed into? Somehow what you experienced didn't seem like a dream. On your adventure you had died many times before so you knew unfortunately well how it felt to have your heart shatter. It was only through the power of determination (and your unusual power to SAVE) that you were able to come back even if it was always further back in time.

You tread through the shallow water silently sloshing your way. The coolness of the water splashed up and over your legs and wet your shorts a bit. Was that monster perhaps Flowey? It certainly seemed to think it God and it had been indescribably powerful. You remembered dying countless times to it just like you had died ceaselessly before Asgore. But you couldn't give up. If you had given up, Asgore's death would've been in vain and Flowey would have-

You stopped.

 _Wait._

Asgore was alive. Flowey didn't kill him. You didn't die at Asgore's hands. You hadn't even fought him. Toriel had intervened before he had laid a hand on you or your soul. But…you remember fighting him. You remember his remorseful face as he attacked you. You remembered the sorrow in his eyes as each time you came back to fight him you told him that he had killed you x number of times before then. But…that didn't happen. Or….did it? It felt too real to be just a dream –just like the horrifying form of Flowey.

You were exhausted. In the distance you could see the beginnings of the sky lightening. You splashed back to shore and sat against a tree. The rough bark against your back was good for grounding you and you dug your toes into the dirt to further the idea. You brought your knees to your chest and buried your face into your arms. Sleep tugged at your awareness.

The thought of Flowey –the terrible thing mocking you for calling for your "mom"- sent a shiver down your back and before long you were shivering in general. Your teeth chattered though you weren't sure if you were cold of if it was residual fear. Nonetheless you were pulled under and soon sleep overcame you.

* * *

"Fri…?"

"…isk?"

"Frisk!" You startled awake to find yourself surrounded by your friends. Your neck was sore and your bottom was numb leaving your all around uncomfortable as you uncurled. Toriel kneeled in front of you with Undyne and Sans on either side of her. Undyne watched you with worry while Sans looked vaguely relieved behind his permi-grin. Toriel reached out and gently cupped your face. "Frisk, my child, there you are. You had us so worried!" The warmth of her palms and the sun rising at her back made you blink.

"That's right!" Undyne agreed passionately. "You can't keep just falling asleep wherever! You're becoming like Sans here!" She slapped the skeleton on his shoulder. His wince was barely perceptible.

"heh, yeah kiddo." Sans chuckled and rolled his shoulder in what you were sure was pain, "if you were so bone tired then you should tell someone. or find a more comfortable place to sleep."

"You're a bad influence!" Undyne said. She crossed her arms and scowled at him. He appeared unaffected.

"Are you tired, Frisk?" Toriel asked, directing your attention back to her. "Do you need me to carry you back to your tent? I can make you some tea to help you sleep."

You shook your head but were grateful for the offer. You stumbled to your feet and bit back a yawn. You knew you would not be able to sleep again. You hadn't even managed to really sleep under the tree. A light doze was all you could do. You might as well do something useful with yourself.

"If you are sure." Toriel hesitantly conceded still looking worried.

"someone should tell the others we found the kid." Sans said. "well, i need to get going. see ya." He turned and walked off into a seemingly random direction in the forest. You suspected it must be a shortcut of his but you weren't sure how he had already found shortcuts in two days.

"Ugh!" Undyne cried, disgusted. "Looks like I gotta go hunt them down." She turned to you. "You'll be alright, human?" You nod to her. "Look, I'll start training you!" She announced. "Nothing gives you a better sleep than a good workout!"

At your alarmed look Toriel quickly stepped in, "Perhaps another time, Undyne." She told the woman. "Frisk needs all their strength for the upcoming days. And they will _not_ be fighting anyone soon," she smiled somewhat threateningly, "so there is no need for training."

"Uh…y-yeah!" Undyne agreed and chuckled nervously. "Well! Better go find Papyrus and his Majesty! They were worried so…" She escaped.

Toriel sternly stared after her for a few moments before standing and turning back to you. She held out her hand. "Shall we go home? There is much to do, if you are feeling up for it." You take her hand and nod enthusiastically. Anything was better than being left to your thoughts.

* * *

The next couple nights were much the same: You would wake up from a nightmare, wander off, and possibly fall asleep somewhere not too far from the main settlement. Usually the lake because the moon glistening on it reminded you of Waterfall and the glowing rocks that had calmed you during that time. However after the first three times of falling asleep and worrying your friends –as well as a stressed conversation about "Not doing that, please" and more than once being held tightly in the arms of the one who found you (usually Toriel but one time Undyne and once by Asgore, who had hesitated before hugging you compassionately to him)- you tried to hold yourself together long enough to at least go back to the settlement.

Your nightmare kept getting worse. Sometimes you dreamed that you had killed some of the monsters you called friends –not the Boss Monsters but rather the smaller ones like Froggits and Aaron. Other times you dreamt about Asriel begging you to leave him. Or worse to save him. The dreams where he asked you to save him felt less real than the ones asking you to leave him. They were dreadful either way.

* * *

" _Asgore….Do not let Asgore take your soul…"_

" _Be good….won't you? ….My…child…."_

* * *

You awoke with a cry and quickly covered your mouth to muffle the sobs that began to erupt from your chest. Your heart was hurting as you threw yourself out of bed and hurried out of your bedroom. The house (recently finished) that you lived in with Toriel was quickly becoming a familiar sight but seeing it made you remember the slash across Toriel's chest. You remembered the sorrow in her eyes as her body began to turn to dust and she smiled at you proudly.

You didn't want her to be proud of you.

Hands shaking, you padded hastily into the main foyer and opened the front door. You barely managed not to cry out as you came face-to-face with Sans standing in front of you. You covered your mouth again as you panted. You were fairly sure you were hyperventilating.

"hey kiddo." Sans greeted casually even as he eyed your distressed state. "thought i'd catch you here. wanna go for a walk?" You couldn't bring yourself to give a response either verbally or non-verbally. He carefully wrapped an arm around your neck –giving you plenty of time to duck out from it- before pulling you close and turning you both towards a familiar path to the lake. "yeah, let's go for a walk."

For a good few minutes neither of you said anything. Sans's presence next to you was grounding. You weren't sure how but leaning against his side he felt like he had a solid body: a tummy, padding of skin, an almost-heat soaking through his clothing. If you didn't know better you would think he's human rather than a skeleton. Were it not for the skeletal hand laying against your arm and the glowing white dots of eyes in the dark depths of his eye sockets you would actually think he was human. But you knew for a fact that he, like Papyrus, was a skeleton. How he felt so solid you weren't sure. Perhaps it was magic, you mused. A part of you was tempted to lift his shirt in order to look. These thoughts calmed you.

"so…" Sans finally began after your trembling had decreased and your breathing began to return to normal. The lake wasn't far now, "what has you wandering around so late at night, buddy?" He glanced at you –he was only a couple inches taller than you- but you said nothing. Your eyes fell to the ground. "nothing good, huh?" You shook your head. "i can understand that." He said and looked ahead. You wondered what he meant by that.

As the lake came to view he let you go to plop down next to a tree with a grunt. You joined him and stared out at the lake. His bony fingers dug into the grass and ripped up a clump to stare at it. He rubbed the blades between his fingers. "let me take a guess." He said. "nightmares? no other reason a kid like you should be wandering around at night. alone."

You pulled your knees up to your chest but didn't look away from the water. The wind was stronger than usual tonight and there were clouds in the sky. It was probably going to rain. It was a good thing that yours and Toriel's house was finished. The land around you was much darker but you had long since grown unaffected by the darkness. You had died far too many times to care for such an insignificant form of darkness.

"…" Sans watched you. You could feel his eyes burning on your skin. Could he tell that you had killed Toriel before? When you had met him in the hallway of Asgore's castle he was able to tell how many people you had killed ( _none._ You hadn't killed _anyone_.)

(And yet.)

(And yet…)

You felt yourself choking up some. You quietly cleared your throat. You couldn't bear to look your friend in the eyes and instead closed your eyes. Toriel was Sans's old friend –a person he had stumbled across quite on accident. Their love for puns was unparalleled (and lamented upon by many of the monsters) and they had been so glad to meet each other face-to-face. What would Sans think if he knew you had killed her? You could feel your friends slipping through your fingers…

* * *

" _SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW!"_

"… _Alphys….This is what I was afraid of…This is why I never told you…"_

* * *

You jerked awake and flinched away from the hand touching your arm. Tears rolled down your cheeks as you found Sans in front of you. A soft sob worked its way up your throat. Dear God, it hadn't been just Toriel. You had killed Papyrus and Undyne too. Tears rolled down your cheeks and you buried your face in your arms unable to look into Sans's worried face. You didn't deserve his comfort. You cringed at the thought. You bit your tongue to stop yourself from crying aloud. God you had killed _Papyrus_! He had only wanted to be your friend. Even as he died he had kept his good humor and-

You had still killed him.

You felt sick to your stomach.

A jacket was thrown over your form. You blinked in surprise and shift the edge of the jacket down from your face, unraveling yourself along the way. You recognize even in the darkness the feeling of Sans's signature jacket and looked to him in confusion.

"uh…" Sans pulled out his handkerchief and rubbed his skull down. He was sweating even in the evening breeze, "when Pap and me were baby bones, he would find….strange things scary. like dogs. and socks. didn't understand it myself. kind of messed with him about the last thing." Now you understood why even in their new house one of Sans's socks could be found lying on the floor of the living room. Scandalous. It also explained why Sans even _owned_ socks. You surreptitiously eyed his slipper-clad feet. "i found out that he liked sleeping in my clothes. made him feel safe, i guess?" He blinked and rubbed his skull again before meeting your eyes again. "maybe it'll help you, ya know?"

You looked down at the jacket and fingered the zipper. The material was thick and heavy –clearly meant for the snow rather than the summer of Overworld- but it was also well-worn giving it a comfortable feeling. The inside was thinly lined with some type of fur (maybe from the rabbit-people of Snowdin?) You knew you would probably be more than a little uncomfortable wearing a jacket in the summer but.

Why would he give this to you? No…Sans didn't know about other timelines (right?). If Sans knew, he wouldn't be this nice to you. _You_ were growing to hate yourself for the choices you had made in another time –in another life. Why had you done what you did? It didn't feel like you. You never wanted to fight but at that time…at that time you had just wanted to kill everything in your way. You wanted to destroy everything. The urge had been digging into your skin. Hurting others felt _good_.

Is that what mass murderers felt like?

You shivered, feeling the weight of your sins crawl down your back.

You slipped the jacket on and cuddled down into it. It hung off of your hands and form. It was clearly made for someone with big bones than your body. When you zipped up the front you were able to easily tuck your legs under it. It made the jacket snug. You couldn't resist pulling your arms in so that only your head stuck out. You probably looked like a blue marshmallow at the moment.

Sans grinned at you. "wanna hear how I keep my coat so insulated?" Oh no. "i _down_ loaded it."

You reach up to grab the hood of the coat and pull it down over your head. You covered yourself in quickly-becoming-too-warm darkness as Sans chuckled next to you. You had to admit it was a little funny. It had done its job of cheering you up some. When the jacket became too stifling you popped your head back out but left the hood still on your head. You were sure he could see the tiny smile on your lips even if you couldn't see much. His eyes were bound to be better suited for the dark than yours. Through your fringe you watched Sans leaning against the tree by your side. You'd never actually seen his arms before. The few times you had seen him without his coat when you had visited him, Undyne, and Papyrus back in Snowdin, he wore a white turtleneck. Even then that was rare. But now he sat in only a white tee shirt. Despite the thin material it didn't cling to his bones like you expected it to. Somehow it was startling to actually see the bones of his bare arms.

Your eyes began to slip shut. The wind blowing was keeping your face cool and was slipping under the jacket enough to circulate the warm air in it. The slightly-too-warm-and-humid-space where your body was tucked was becoming a comfortable norm. Your face lowered some under the neckline of the coat. It smelled like bones and grease. Your fingers ran through the fur on the inside slowly and eventually slowed to a stop.

* * *

You had known that you had the power to SAVE and RESET for quite a while. You figured it out back when you had first fought Undyne. At the time you had not understood quite _why_ you could bring yourself back. You recalled certain moments and places (the mouse one day getting the cheese; the peaceful sound of Waterfall) that filled you with determination to "keep going" and to "not give up" but you hadn't realized that you could actually bring yourself back from shattering just through the thoughts of your determination in those moments. When Undyne had killed you the first time and you listened to her "greeting" over again you realized that you honestly had gone back in time.

It was only during your fight with Asriel did you realize that you could RESET. Or, to be more truthful, when he told you that you could RESET. You hadn't thought to use it against him. At the time you were far too determined to save everyone. And all of your attempts to go back to your last SAVES did nothing. You hadn't considered the implications of being able to RESET until your nightmares started occurring. It had been during the third day did you realize that your dreams…were most likely not dreams.

Asriel _had_ turned into that monster. Asgore _had_ killed you countless times. Asriel –or rather Flowey- had killed you countless more times. Your heart shattering had become the norm for you. But you were determined. You had persisted. And you had _gotten out_ in that timeline. You dreamed of getting out, of running as fast as you could go away from Mt. Ebbott, of reaching the nearest town and collapsing on a bench. You dreamed of realizing that all of your friends were still trapped in the Underground. You dreamed of having no one and nowhere to go.

Sans had called you in that timeline. Told you about the world you had left behind. (It seemed that no matter what happened, Sans had been a constant in all of your timelines.)

(You wondered if that was a coincidence.)

The thought of your friends still trapped down in the Underground. The thoughts of knowing that another human would need to fall down and their soul needed to be collected. The thoughts that Asgore had been killed. They had filled you with _determination_ ….

* * *

You woke up on a familiar lumpy couch. You blinked your eyes against the sun's rays beaming in through the uncovered window. Disoriented, you questioned how you had gotten here and sat up looking around. You were way too warm. Looking down at yourself you realized that Sans's coat was still zipped up. Idly you unzipped in and flipped the edges a couple times to get cooler air onto your sweaty skin.

"FRISK!" You startled slightly at the call of your name and saw Papyrus bound from the (now) dog-free kitchen. Ever since he had been told that the Royal Guard was no longer a thing (and he still lamented it claiming that this can't be a "happy ending" without him becoming a Royal Guard but frankly now that you knew of the other options, you didn't care) he had begun to wear new clothes. Today he was sporting a shirt that was a little too short that said Vans (the brand) in a fanciful pattern but had "cool" stitched somewhat-crudely above it. He wore cargo pants today and boots. Over his shirt he wore an apron as he stirred what you could only hope was pancake batter in a bowl in his hand.

"YOU ARE AWAKE, MY HUMAN FRIEND! WHEN I HAD AWOKEN TO FIND YOU ON MY COUCH I WAS GREATLY SURPRISED! I WAS SO SURPRISED THAT IN YOU MISSED ME SO MUCH THAT YOU WOULD BREAK INTO MY HOUSE IN THE NIGHT AND SLEEP ON MY COUCH!" His stirring became a bit more vigorous and the batter was starting to splash a little too much on his clothing. "I WAS GOING TO GREET YOU BUT SANS TOLD ME TO LEAVE YOU ALONE! HE SAID YOU WERE EXTREMELY TIRED FROM DOING SO MUCH WORK AND I WAS IMPRESSED! NO DOUBT ALL THAT HARD WORK MADE YOU TIRED! SO I LET YOU SLEEP!" You rubbed your ears some against the onslaught of yelling. You could guess who brought you here then.

Suddenly you realized what it meant that you had slept at the skeleton brothers' house. You had actually _slept_. Dreamt too, though what you had dreamed of had already faded from your mind. All you knew was that it wasn't sad or scary and that was certainly an improvement. Maybe Sans was onto something when it came to wearing his clothing? Nightmare-free skeleton clothes? You let the sleeves of the coat fall over your hands and buried your face in them. It still smelled of bones but the scent of grease was stronger here. No doubt from possibly years of eating at Grillby's.

You uncovered your face and pointed questioningly at the bowl in Papyrus's hands. "OH!" Papyrus said. "ALPHYS HAS TOLD ME THAT HUMANS LIKE CAKE TO CHEER THEM UP. AND YOU HAVE BEEN BOTHERED LATELY, FRISK. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN READ YOU LIKE A BOOK! YOU ARE NOT A JUNIOR JUMBLE TO ME! YOU ARE, IN FACT, A CROSSWORD PUZZLE! EASILY CONQUERED BY ME! SO I HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE CAKE!" A small smile appeared on your face and you hopped off of the couch to approach Papyrus. He paused in his mixing as you held out your arms to him. He was impossibly tall and it would be awkward to try to hug him when you were only about at the top of his pelvis. "OH!" The skeleton exclaimed and kneeled down to pull you into an affectionate hug. Despite the hard edges of bone digging into your skin (very much padded by the jacket you wore, thank you Sans) you wrapped your arms around his neck and clung to him tightly. How could you possibly have hurt him in a different timeline? Even now you could smell the dust he had left behind.

You couldn't forgive yourself.

After a few long minutes of hugging, Papyrus began to chuckle nervously. "UH…HUMAN…WHILE I KNOW OF YOUR UNDYING AFFECTION FOR ME….I MUST ADMIT THIS HUG IS GETTING….KIND OF UNCOMFORTABLE. AND THE CAKE MUST BE MADE!" You let go of Papyrus and gave him a look before patting him on the head. Your non-verbal communication could only express your platonic feelings only so well. You didn't bother to correct him. It was fine either way.

When the skeleton stood up you took the bowl and spoon from his hands before motioning to follow you into the kitchen. You remembered how to make cake (not the kind Mettaton likes) so you would show Papyrus how to make it. It would be nice to eat something without eggshells in it.

* * *

Sans's jacket really worked. Whenever you wore it to sleep, you always had better dreams. You weren't sure if they were necessarily "happy" dreams but they were better than waking up in tears or a panic. Toriel seemed relieved to wake up to find you still in your bed. You had known that your midnight wanderings were scaring her but you hadn't been able to help it. Not only that but the fitful nights had made you grouchy in the mornings. What little talking you did during the day had decreased and you were sluggish. Between the weight of your guilty heart, the knowledge that you could alter the world with a single thought (if you had enough determination to do so), and the cursed dreams of alternate timelines you were quickly becoming a different person. And your friends had noticed.

While Sans's jacket certainly didn't cure your guilt (God, Asriel was _still down there)_ or the implications of your powers, it helped improve your mood. The scent of his jacket was quickly becoming a soothing thing –much like the smell of butterscotch-cinnamon pie, tea, and earth- to you. You loved curling up in the large fluff of it. You understood now why Sans was ridiculously attached to it.

Preparations with the humans were going well. With the monster development well under way, you and Asgore had decided it would be best to start talking with the neighboring humans. Papyrus had very much insisted he wanted to go –along with Undyne- and you agreed with him. Papyrus was friendly and skeletons don't actually scare humans that much (you certainly hadn't been scared and you're still a kid). However Asgore agreed with you in that Undyne should probably stay behind for at least the first couple of visits. She could be…overwhelming.

In the end it went rather well. Besides the initial revulsion and your less-than-talkative attempts of mediating, the humans had quickly fallen for the sweetness of your friends. None of them were quite up to visiting a town full of monsters yet…but baby steps.

Though Toriel's house was where you lived the most, you found your sleeping arrangements start to get spread out. You opened up a little more to the possibility and soon started sleeping over first at Asgore's house. Despite the memories of him killing you, you knew that he missed being a father. And, well, you've never really had a father before so you were curious. Both of you had been a bit hesitant around each other but you quickly warmed up to him and him to you. Some part of you wondered if Asgore remembered any of the other timelines. He sure seemed to understand that there WERE other possible timelines but did he know how dramatic they were? You never brought it up. You couldn't bring yourself to when all you wanted to do was curl up with him and listen to him read stories to you or tell you about the past. Neither of you brought up Asriel or Chara. You never told him the truth about Chara. The King had suffered enough pain.

After Toriel and Asgore's (both of who had bedrooms specifically for you. This must be what it's like having divorced parents, you thought) you tried staying at Undyne's and Alphys's. Those nights were always fun but they wore you out in many ways. While Alphys seemed a bit fine with you being so quiet and letting her ramble about her favourite animes, Undyne always wanted responses from you. Though cooking with the ex-Royal Guard usually ended rather destructively, the little bit of food you did manage to make usually turned out rather delicious. You couldn't fault Undyne for her food, that was for sure. After they managed to acquire a piano, you soon began to receive spirited lessons in that as well.

You always made sure to stay with Toriel a few nights in a row to recover from staying with Undyne and Alphys.

Tonight was your first night officially staying over with Sans and Papyrus. Papyrus was stoked and had been loudly showing you around their new home (though you have already seen quite a bit of it). He complained about Sans leaving his socks _again_ on the living room floor (to which you were very amused because it made so much more sense now) but was very proud to show you his extremely tall sink did not, in fact, house any dogs whatsoever! Sans had followed you guys around at a sedate place more interested in being amused by his brother's antics than actually contributing any significant touring statements. He did, however, crack quite a number of puns which would've been more effectively had you not already heard most of them when he and Toriel would go on a spree of jokes together over the breakfast table. Papyrus's reactions never ceased to entertain you though and since Sans winked at you whenever you cracked a smile you knew that he was aware of it.

That evening you had come to a conclusion. It had been two weeks now without any nightmares and the jacket had long since lost its familiar scent (although you could still smell grease no matter how many times Toriel washed it). You weren't sure of its effects but you thought that you could handle not sleeping with it anymore. So as you lay in the sleeping bag that Papyrus himself had bought over in the human town and listened to Sans read a bed time story to you both, you shimmied out of the coat. Papyrus's bone-rattling snores filled the room and Sans stood up to leave when you sat up.

"not asleep yet?" He asked as he sidled over in his slipper-clad feet. "need a good night kiss?" He teased. You held out the jacket to him. He blinked once in surprise. "ah…done with this then? no more nightmares?" You nod to him and he took the jacket back before slipping it back on. It was good to see it back on him. It was strange to see him without its extra bulk. With that matter settled you snuggled back down into your sleeping bag and watched him. He stared at you for a moment longer, his gaze unfathomable, before he smiled and waved a good night and left through the door. You closed your eyes and buried your nose into the covers of your sleeping bag. You hoped tonight would be a good night.

* * *

 _You've heard this conversation so many times. You heard those words so many times. And after a while, he just cut straight to the point. You knew now that he was very much aware of time anomalies. You didn't know how he knew. "Findings" he said, like he's some kind of scientist. But you knew how lazy he was. He couldn't be a scientist. Papyrus said he wanted to be a dentist. He was aware of your SAVE powers and yet he still wished to be cut down. He still fought you knowing how futile it was. He was strong but you were determined. This world was going to burn._

 _Still, the look in his eyes made your skin crawl no matter the scenario. Fighting such a tough opponent was aggravating. Back and forth you fought. You were thrown around and you had to dodge attacks in midair. You were lucky to have the food on you that you did. You had to tire him out. If you returned to your last SAVE he would be refreshed. But each time you died, you learned more of his attacks. You could dodge them. They were the same every time._

 _Eventually you had managed to survive long enough. He didn't follow the "rules" of the battle, dodging your attacks ("what? you expected me to just stand there and take it?"), skipping in the fight…and finally using his "special attack". You were locked there unable to attack. He was exhausted. You could see in his eyes the hatred he held for you and the desperation. His special attack was his last desperate stand. If he didn't attack you, you couldn't attack him. If you couldn't attack him, you couldn't kill him. If you didn't kill him, you wouldn't_ _ **win**_ _. It was against the_ _ **rules.**_ _And it was ingenious._

 _But if he could break the rules, so could you. You were determined enough._

 _His exhaustion got the best of him. If he so much as saw you move, he would throw you back to your spot. But being lazy for so long and not having to fight such a tough opponent before wore on him. You had no idea the effects that your reloading of SAVES had on him. You didn't care. You waited until he was finally asleep when you attacked. But he dodged. He was so cocky he would win but you ruled this world now. You attacked twice and cut him down. It had been startling to see a monster bleed. But you realized from the smell it wasn't blood._

 _He stood up and grinned at you. "_ _well…i'm going to Grillbz_ _." He crawled out of your sight. You didn't track his movements. Already you could see dust particles dissolving off of him._ _"…Papyrus_ _," he called out to nobody, "_ _do you want anything?_ _"_

* * *

You shot up with a cry. Papyrus's snores scared you and you jolted in your spot. Your eyes were burning but you were too horrified to even cry. Some part of you had known that the possibility of you killing everyone had been there. Your dreams certainly made you feel that way. You had _wanted_ to kill everyone. It had been enjoyable to you. It seemed only right that Sans would abandon his no-care attitude to come after you. After all you had killed his _brother_. You had killed _everyone_ and soon you had been going to kill Asgore and then Flowey himself. The thought sickened you. You rushed out of bed to the trash can and vomited. You gave a soft sob and turned fretfully to see if you had awoken Papyrus, but his snores had blocked out most noise that you made.

You were relieved. Your body was shaking and you grabbed the spare blanket you had used earlier when you were watching television (how they had gotten cable from the humans you didn't know) with the skeleton brothers on the couch and wrapped it around yourself. You wanted a glass of water first and went first into the bathroom that connected both Sans's and Papyrus's rooms. Your mind was numb with the effort not to think. You turned the water on low and set to rinsing out your mouth and washing your face. You glanced up and saw just how ashen you looked. It was still you.

You wondered how Sans saw you.

You flinched away from the thought and hurried to turn off the light but the bedroom only felt oppressing now. Even with Papyrus's friendly presence nearby you only felt abject horror at all that you've done. Or, that you've done in another life. How could you have let Chara become so strong?

You left Papyrus's room and in a daze traveled down the stairs to the first floor. It was only when you looked up to see something blue glowing from the couch did your heart skip so hard you were certain you had injured yourself. It left you breathless and your legs felt weak. You didn't dare move. Sans's eye was only ever blue when…

But the same killing intent was there. As your eyes adjusted more to the darkness you saw his slumped form on the couch. He seemed awake but staring off into the distance. He hadn't noticed you. You were scared. You knew now that Sans did if fact know about the alternate timelines, but how well did he remember it? Did he know how horrible you've been? Did he know just how much LV and EXP you had gained in another life? How many resets you had done? You recalled his words during your fight with Asriel and shuddered at the implications of it.

" _just give up. i did."_

What was he doing up anyhow? It had to be well past midnight yet Sans was awake. You knew he liked his sleep. You swallowed and took first one step forward and then another and then another and before you knew it you were at the couch. The thing itself was a little tall for you considering Papyrus's height (and him not considering how short you or his brother were) so you had to crawl up onto it.

Sans flinched at the sight of you and you tried not to acknowledge it as you crawled onto the couch. He watched you warily, sitting up straight and shifting a little away from you. It seemed like he was more afraid of you than you were of him at the moment. And that was really saying something because were trembling from his proximity. You had died many times at his hands. You had never realized just how _powerful_ Sans was.

"h-hey kid! what're you doin' up?" He asked. His voice was slightly higher-pitched than usual and he was sweating. You made sure not to sit too close to him.

You lowered your head and looked at him through your messy hair but you didn't think he could read you at the moment. You opened your mouth and your voice cracked as you said softly, "I had a scary dream…" Tears welled up in your eyes and hiccupping sobs began to wrack your body. Sans looked temporarily thrown by your behavior before his eyes softened and he opened his arms to you.

"aw, c'mere Frisk." You didn't hesitate to move into his embrace. Your need to comfort outweighed your fear. "everything's fine." He murmured to you.

"It was bad." You couldn't stop yourself from saying.

"…yeah." Sans agreed and gripped your back tightly. You stiffened in his arms (what if he "dunked" you again?) and he froze as well. When neither of you moved, you buried your face into the hood of his jacket. Both of you relaxed.

"There was blood." You whispered.

"i know." And suddenly you knew that he knew what your dreams were. And you realized why he was really up so late. The thought made you sob harder and cling to him.

"S-Sans…" you whimpered. Your body shook from the force of your cries as suddenly all of your pain and guilt washed out of you. "I'm sorry, Sans…I'm so sorry- I-I…I'm really sorry….!" He said nothing as you apologized over and over again. He only held onto you. Why did you have this power? Why could you RESET and SAVE? Why did Chara exist inside of you? How many times had you RESET? How many times did you kill everyone? How many times did you SAVE them?

How many times did Sans have to watch this happen over and over again?

God, no wonder he gave up.

You crawled into his lap and wept your heart out. You wept for yourself who you had saved and for Asriel who you couldn't save no matter what. You wept for all of the times your friends had been murdered at your hands. You wept for all of the times you freed everyone just to reset because you missed the adventure. You wept for the lingering memories in the monsters' minds and especially the nightmares some of them must have.

But most of all you wept for Sans and all the hurt you have caused him.

"I'm so sorry." You whimpered one more time, you nose clogged and your voice hoarse. Throughout it all Sans hadn't responded. You didn't want to lift your head to see his reaction. You weren't sure you could even move right now.

Finally Sans buried his face into your shoulder and hugged you tightly. "i know, Frisk." He said back. His own voice was choked up and you felt his body shake as he began to cry into your shoulder as well.

"I won't reset again." You swore. "I won't."

"heh…that sounds like a great idea kid. best idea anyone's ever had." He whispered.

You closed your eyes and hiccupped. It was hard to breathe but his forgiveness lifted a large portion of the weight off of your shoulders. "I love you, Sans."

"i know." He sat up and pressed his teeth to your hair in what was probably an approximation of a kiss. "i love you too, kid."

That night neither of you spoke about your powers. One day you wanted to. You wanted to find out the extent of his knowledge. You wanted to confess all of your sins to him. You wanted him to open up to you. You had a feeling that there was nobody else who held the same information on him and you didn't doubt that it was a heavy burden to shoulder. And most of it was your fault. You would tell him everything. You would tell him all of your secrets if it came to it. All about Asriel and the fight you had. The sorrow you held in your heart for the poor soulless child locked down in the ruins. You would tell him because there is nobody else you can tell. The few people who seemed to be relatively aware of the anomalies could not be told. You couldn't hurt your family like that.

You cupped Sans's cheeks and kissed the protruding bone there as a promise that you hoped he understood. He didn't say anything but he released you long enough to slide off his jacket again. In response you tugged off your blanket and he threw the jacket over your shoulders. Once you had slipped on the coat, you pulled the blanket around the two of you and curled up on the couch with him. You buried your face into the hollow under his chin and closed your eyes as he relaxed against you. Serious talks could wait until daylight.

Tonight you hoped you both would have good dreams.

* * *

 **EDIT: HOOOOOOLY SHIT I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON. I FORGOT TO ADD THIS FOOTNOTE:  
I based the ending part of this story on M1nktank's lovely heart-wrenching fanart (which they gave me permission to use here) so please take a look. You'll get to see Sans's reaction to Frisk. m1nktank .tumblr post/ 131388795355/ tfw-the-human-child-has-the-same-nightmares-you-do**


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